A personal blog challenge + Free clip art!

After my pathetically sparse blog posting performance in December, I've decided to take up a personal blog challenge for January. I challenge myself to post at least every week day from now until January 31 (weekends are optional--I can post, but I'm not going to flog myself if I forget or need a break.) Hopefully I won't run out of things to write by day 14 and start posting things like My Top Ten Breakfast foods or Things I've Picked Out of My Toes. Some days may just be photos, but I promised they'll at least be gratuitously cute Maren pictures.

If you're not familiar with Dover Publications, now is the time to get acquainted. I've long loved Dover books--I used to buy the little books of paper dolls at an art store near my home and my college bookstore sold Dover Thrift Editions for a mere $1.00, which enabled me to buy myself a tidy little stack of the classics and poetry. One of the things Dover is best known for is its vast collection of permission-free clip art. A couple of years ago my mom gave me this book & CD-ROM for Christmas. I've loved it! There are beautiful Victorian-style graphics taken from postcards and greeting cards for nearly every holiday. I've used them frequently on my blog and have also printed them out to use in various craft projects. I recently ordered this book, which has illustrations that are more 1920s-30s in style. I like it quite a bit, but I still love the Holiday Vignettes book better.

If you want to get a taste of what Dover has to offer, both clip-art and other items, you can sign up for their weekly Sampler newsletter here. Every Friday you get a newsletter with links to all kinds of samples of featured products. Some are clip-art, some are coloring pages, mazes, games, illustrations, and much more. To save the images to your computer, just right-click and choose a folder. There is also a weekly e-card you can send that is usually a cute vintage illustration. I've really enjoyed getting them each week in my inbox and have amassed quite a few pieces of clip art in the process.

We're all still sick at my house. Maren has finally succumbed after toughing it out for almost two weeks now. She's a tough little girl, and her personality changes quite drastically when she's not feeling well. I had a rough morning today (no more codeine-laced cough-syrup for me, thankyouverymuch) but I'm actually feeling better right now so I hope it means I'm on the mend. Back tomorrow!